


road not taken | lee minho

by meltingjukyu



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Other, Stray Kids Fluff, lee Minho au, lee minho fluff, minho au, stray kids - Freeform, stray kids au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25686328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meltingjukyu/pseuds/meltingjukyu
Summary: on Soul, you are destined to have a person. however, it doesn’t always go to plan and someone else needs to come along and fix it.
Relationships: Lee Minho | Lee Know/Reader
Kudos: 4





	road not taken | lee minho

**Author's Note:**

> hiii this is the first part of three chapters for soulmate!minho ~ enjoy !!

_trying to explain Soul to the unfamiliar is always a task. a pairing ritual was set in stone by the ancestors of Soul to avoid the seven deadly sins and the most painful emotion of all - loneliness. in our world, you’re assigned a person on your fifth birthday and they become your person. this person has similar interests to you and you will live out your days with that person~ they may become a friend, a carer, or even a lover. but it is vital that you don’t break that connection, or you are left with nothing. everything you know will be stripped from you, and you will be banished to the Deep._

your dad used to tell ghost stories of those who didn’t survive the connection and were banished to the pit. it was his way of warning us to think carefully about the path we take with our person – if you choose wrong, Soul can be torn and you will inevitably be casted to the _Deep_ by our ancestors that watch over us. but he always promised us one thing – stick by your person and you will never be lonely.

your person will always be within your district, and will most likely be someone that you grew up with. sometimes, they can be closer than you think. it was your own parents that became elite members of the _Pair_ – pairings that survive the ritual and become connected through everlasting love. that being said – a pairing does not need to be romantic, but like your parent’s case, it was. they fell in love at 15, and on your mother’s 18th birthday – she heard the three words she had wanted your dad to tell her, but they weren’t spoken out loud. he had told her he loved her through the vocalized connection that a pairing shares the moment the youngest turns 18. they become telepathic to each other.

yet, not everyone is as lucky as your parents. some pairings do not succeed as progressively as the ancestors anticipated.

your sister chose to remain platonic with her person – he became a valuable member of your family as your sister’s best friend, but you could tell it was hard for them to make this decision.

your uncle became one of the fateful _Lone_ – a human who lost their pairing to sudden death or a tear in Soul. his pairing wasn’t raised to understand the deep important of a pairing and when he found your uncle, he decided to tear Soul instead. however, despite the painful act of the Tear, your uncle underwent _Reparation_ – a repairing of humans who have lost their pair to reignite happiness and optimism. his pair is another valuable member of your family, and their love came by a stroke of luck that their original pairings had failed.

on your fifth birthday, your day went as follows. you woke up to presents and cake from your family. a trip to the park did not go a miss. but before your annual trip to your uncles’ restaurant – you needed to stop by the clinic to begin your transition into the pairing. the towering doors to the clinic instilled a fear into you that could only be diminished by your mothers soothing words. once your name had been called, you were taken into a room by a sweet old woman and told to sat in the chair in the middle.

the room was an off white all over – the circular room was covered in tiles from wall and floor that made the room seem much larger than it was. you knew now that it was to ensure that kids weren’t scared when they had to sit in the secluded room for an hour on their 5th birthday. the chair in the middle looked like it belonged in a dentist’s room – no cushion in sight but a slight incline with foot pedals fit for a small child. beside the chair was a small metal trolley with a single cup filled with a silver liquid. the chair was facing a large mirror that showed your reflection.

once you were sat in the chair, you saw your mum at the door in the corner of the room with encouraging smile and wave. “just listen to the instructions – you will be out of here in no time. I promise we can get the biggest ice cream we can find straight after. deep breaths and just close your eyes.”

her soothing voice was enough to waiver the fear that set in once the door had locked and the lights dimmed. a static voice surrounded the room with a set of instructions.

_good morning. today is your special day – the day your life truly begins. now, I’m here to ensure you are safe and taken care of, okay? now, I see you have a cup of liquid beside you. can you take that into your hands for me? well done, now it might taste a little funny but we’ll pretend it’s like orange juice and drink it in one go! okay, now count with me – three, two, one. amazing, you did well. now try to relax, close your eyes and listen to the music._

by the time you were out of the clinic, your brain felt slightly jumbled but for a child that was promised the biggest ice cream in the city – it was like nothing had happened.

the day before your 18th birthday was quite nerve-wracking. your friend and the current occupier of your thoughts, jisung, you had spoken about the underlying nerves that you might not become a member of the _Pair_. you had always liked each other, but the daunting reality that was to hit you on your birthday made it almost impossible to make any plans. you had every confidence that you would, but an intrusive thought sat at the front of your mind every time you spoke about it. it might not be him – or he might not want it to be him.

that evening, your uncles came to visit for dinner. chatter over the dinner table was nothing but warm. but when you excused yourself for bed, they pulled you aside into the hallway as they put on their jackets.

“tomorrow’s a big day, huh?”

“yeah – I enjoyed celebrating my birthday with you all though. thank you both so much for coming.”

“hey, kid. coming from us, if tomorrow doesn’t go to plan-“

“I know. thanks.”

“we know you know – but, if it doesn’t. it will hurt for a while, but you’ll get through it. remember that it will be the road not taken – you will find your own path eventually, like we did.”

the intrusive thoughts that had settled in a while ago had returned. and they remained that way through the night.

and when you woke up, it felt like your chest was on fire. your heart began to sink as you realised what was happening. the small “I’m sorry” that echoed through your head sounded oddly familiar. it was happening to you – they had warned you. a rare case was you.

he had rejected you – and it felt like your heart had been stolen from your chest. an endless sharp pain stayed that way for a few days. until your mum managed to get you an appointment at the clinic for a Reparation. constant reassurance that everything would be okay felt far from the truth.

_this was a road not taken._

you were officially 18 years and 24 days old – still no pairing.

until october 25th. it was a tuesday. you were woken up in the middle of the night to a humming sound.

it wasn’t an overwhelming noise. it was quiet, and soothing. and it sent you right back to sleep.

it must have been a dream. surely it was just a dream. you hadn’t had any connection since that night over a week ago. your pairing must still be 17, hopefully.

you often thought about jisung – what was he doing now? is the Deep _really_ a fiery burning pit of hell? it still stung when you thought about the Tear. it was like a distant memory with a sharp pang in your chest each time.

the morning time was the worst~ the nightmares that drowned your unconscious state was followed by hours of numbness. as you poured the last of your raisin bran ~ supposedly good for the Reparation procedure, _it’s all lies_ ~ you stared blankly at the morning paper left by your dad.

the thought of having to go back to school today was painful. you managed to get out of writing the French colonialism essay but you know that as soon as you-

_hmmm. eggs? no, I had those yesterday. cereal? ahh, cereal sounds good. what do we have??_

the voice you had wanted to hear for so long overwhelmed your thoughts. they sound young – maybe your age? maybe a year or so older?

the thought of possibly losing your person was too overwhelming that your confidence sat at the forefront of your attitude.

_if you have raisin bran – it’s not bad._

you felt a slight pause. you weren’t sure if you had startled them or not. you chose to pretend as if it hadn’t happened and went back to munching on your rather bland cereal. until-

_I’ll take your word for it. I’ll stick to my cookie crunch – but thanks._

they were smiling, the hint of a light-hearted tone masked the surprise on both of your parts. the last time you were connected to someone they tore your heart out within seconds – this one seemed to be your chance. or so you had hoped.

_okay. uh, cool. that’s really… uh, cool._

you had never physically faced palmed in your life until this moment… _cool?! are you serious?!_

a soft chuckle clouded your thoughts as your eyes widened in disbelief. _oh god. uh, you can hear everything, huh?_

_yep._

your palms clenched the edge of the breakfast bar you sat at every morning. thinking was only going to embarrass you further.

_can you just pretend you don’t hear me trying to recollect my own thoughts before I attempt to speak to you again?_

silence.

_thank you- uhh. okay. h-hi._

_hey._

_hey, i- should we… introduce ourselves?_

there was another pause. a bit longer than the first.

_I know who you are. I could recognise your voice anywhere._

it was your turn to pause. the candor in their voice. you stopped for a moment to recall this conversation. surely if they recognise you, you should recognise them?

_oh, okay. may I ask who you are then?_

_why don’t you ask me some questions? … I’d be quick, we only have 45 minutes until we need to be at school._

that was how you found yourself walking to school, feeling much lighter than when you first woke up. you asked all kinds of questions – did they grow up in this town? where were you most likely going to see them next? where do they sit for lunch?

you had narrowed down a few key points – they were male, they were your age, and they only went to school for their friends, and dancing. to be frank, this narrowed down to a few options but you didn’t jump to any conclusions.

_so, you’re on the dance team?_

_mmhm. I don’t want to toot my own trumpet, but I’m pretty good._

you giggled, and the aura you felt in your connection told you that he was smiling.

_I think I know who you are._

another pause. _okay, go ahead._

_you’re obviously hyunjin._

you were lowly giggling to yourself when he gasped.

_veto. try again._

you were entering the school gate by this point. a half an hour walk went by in a flash. you felt warm with the company inside your head – in the hour or so that you had felt the connection, you felt stronger and more confident already.

the soulmate connection always felt like a façade that people forced themselves to believe. but right now, you felt light and warm. and you hadn’t even met him yet.

the courtyard was crowded with familiar faces. you looked around at familiar guys in your class – but there wasn’t the feeling of a connection anywhere. and his presence in your mind had gone quiet.

frantically, you looked around to find the person you had your heart set on. you knew you were psyching yourself up for a possible letdown. but you couldn’t help it… it had to be him.

there was a slight radiance coming from the willow tree that sat at the furthest point away from the main building.

underneath the tree, as you approached, sat the person you were looking for. he sat with his back against the worn bark, with a book in his hand and his concentration stolen from whatever world laid within those pages.

_no wonder the connection went silent._

at your thought, his head snapped up as your footsteps became louder. recognising who was approaching him, he slowly closed the novel that he was so engrossed in, with a knowing smile forming on his lips.

his eyes started to twinkle like a whole galaxy had formed within his irises. although you hadn’t spoken to this boy outside of a group setting, the comfortable aura that he radiated appeared to be something only you would ever witness.

his features became much more stark as you approached him – the way his golden hair was perfectly styled in a messy manner, the definition of his arms that peeped out of the plain black tshirt he wore, and his honey skin that glowed under the warm sky.

you stopped by his feet as he looked up at you with a shy smile. you knew he rarely showed any form of affection to anybody, but right now, you were different.

without the need for confirmation, the connection told you everything you needed to know. this was the start of something special and your final chance at finding happiness in the darkness.

the moment your eyes locked, you knew. as he looked up at you with surety there was no need for the connection to communicate anymore. his warmth was overwhelming but gave you the confidence you needed and prepared you for the road that was meant to be taken.

“minho.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading !! don’t forget to subscribe for updates <333


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